Thank you so much for the follows, the favorites and the reviews! It really means a lot to me and inspires me to keep writing. This chapter took longer than I expected, because I wasn't sure how to continue from the last one. But here we are with another part of Gajeel's past and someone finally gets to reveal that secret he's been dying to tell.


Gajeel tried not to cringe at his fathers grip of his shoulder. It hurt as hell, but he was determined not to show it. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

His father was very angry at him. He had picked him up at the prinipal's office, again. He had dragged Gajeel out of the officed by the shoulder and scoulded him with a low, resolute voice. He hadn't let go of his shoulder and Gajeel could feel the fingernail digging into his skin.

Gajeel's father didn't let his raging emotions show and to the people passing by they looked like father and son taking a walk together. Nobody knew about the pain caused by the hand on the shoulder.

His father didn't let go until the came home. He shoved Gajeel into his room and slammed the door shut.

"I've had it with you! I had to leave work to pick you up at the principal, again! I ain't takin' anymore shit from you, kid! You do as I say. You don't even leave your room without my permission! You hear that?!"

Gajeel made an ugly face and showed him his middle fingers. Luckily he didn't see them, the door was in the he would have been punished. He got off easy, it could have been a lot worse.

The shoulder still hurt. Gajeel removed the t-shirt and looked at the darkening bruise with the shape of his father's hand.

Great. That's gonna be hard to explain. "I fell down the stairs" wasn't going to cover it this time.

Gajeel sighed and sat down on the unmade bed. He removed the covers and lied down. He wrapped the covers around him and pulled his legs up into fetal position. He might as well try to get some sleep.

He closed his eyes and saw a mental image of his smiling mother.

"I miss you. I wish you were here."

A single tear fell down from the corner of his eye.


"Gajeel, are you even listening to me?"

"Mhm."

"What did I say? Gajeel!"

"What?"

He turned his head and saw her pouting.

"You're not listening."

"What?" he said again.

"I've been saying a lot of things for the last couple of minutes, but what I was saying just now was that Jet and Droy want me to come over and watch a movie tomorrow. You can come to if you want."

She sounded hopeful, and he knew he was going to disappoint her. He wasn't going to spend more time than necessary with those dorks.

"Nah, you go. They're your friends, not mine."

"Yeah. But…"

Levy sighed. She knew he wasn't going to change his mind. She tried to make them get along, but maybe that just wasn't happening.

He seemed to drift off again and she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nah, it's nothin'."

"Are you sure? You can talk to me."

He met her worried gaze and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

"I said it's nothing."

He had told her about his mother, but he wasn't ready to share this with her. He left the couch and walked to the bathroom. He needed a shower. He took off his clothes and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked at the shoulder were the bruise used to be and he could almost see it take shape on the skin.

Why was he thinking about this now? Because of Rogue. He still hadn't figured him out, but it was something about him that made him remember his past. And he didn't want to remember. He sighed and got into the shower. He let the hot water wash away the bad memories.

When he was finished and reached for a towel and dried himself with it. Then he put some clothes on and walked back to the living room. Levy had fallen asleep on the couch. She was lying on the side with her legs pulled up a little and her hand rested protectively on her stomach.

A life was growing inside of her. Something happened inside Gajeel when he watched her, a feeling he couldn't put into words. He kneeled down next to the couch and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. He lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. He gently put her down on the bed and sat down next to her. He pulled up the covers and kissed her on the cheek. He lay down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She murmured something and moved a little closer to him. He rested his chin on the top of her head and sighed. He listened to her slow breathing and felt more relaxed than he had done in a long time.


Levy was nervous. Even more nervous than she thought she would be. And the nervousness increased with every step she took towards Jet's and Droy's apartment. She was going to tell them about the pregnancy. That worried her more than telling her parents.

She had told them earlier that day. They had taken it really well. They had only met Gajeel a couple of times, and though they didn't really know him they seemed to like him. They worried a little about the fact that the pregnancy happened so fast, but they were looking forward to become grandparents and they were happy for them. Levy wasn't sure Jet and Droy would be. As a matter of fact she was sure they wouldn't be.

She reached the floor where they lived and rang the doorbell. She took a deep breath and waited for the door to open. Droy opened the door and smiled at her.

"Hi Levy. You didn't happen to run into the pizza guy did you? I'm so hungry."

"You're always hungry," Levy said and smiled back at him. "I'm sure he'll be here any minute now."

They got inside and Levy took another deep breath. She might as well get it over with.

"I have something to tell you."

"What did he do?" Jet asked with an accusing tone in his voice on his way out from the kitchen.

"He didn't do anything," Levy said. "We did. I'm pregnant."

"No, you're not," Jet said and folded his arms. "You've only been dating for…"

"Stop it, Jet," Levy said. I am pregnant, and how long we have been dating is none of your buisness. This wasn't something we planned, but it happened."

"That's stupid. You know better than that."

"I can`t believe you. This is exactly why I worried about telling you."

"Well, you were smarter before you met that jerk."

"Smarter before… My god, I can't believe we`re doing this again!"

"Calm down, Levy", Droy said and turned to Jet. "And Jet, honey, please shut up. We are not risking our friendship over this. I am not going through that again."

Droy turned to Levy again and took her hands.

"We worry about you, you know that. And Gajeel is.. well… But if this is what you want, then we're happy for you. Right, Jet?

"Sure,"Jet said with a sigh.

He let his arms fall to his sides and walked to the door to let the delivery guy in. He paid him and brought the pizza to the living room. Droy got the movie started and they sat down in silence. At first nobody said anything but as the movie got closer to the end the tension eased and they started talking about babies and baby names.

"You're going to love having that kid crawling all over you and calling you Uncle Jet, don't deny that," Droy said.

Jet sighed. But he was probably right. He wasn't as excited about the baby as Droy, but maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Even though Gajeel was the father.


Levy walked into Fairy Tail together with Gajeel and Lily. Shagotte would join them soon. They were meeting the gang and Levy could see they were already at their table. Mira caught her attention by waving at her and she walked up to the bar to talk to her.

"I haven't seen you around for a while," Mira said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I haven't been feeling well lately, but I'm fine."

Levy regretted it immediately. Mira put her hands together and smiled brightly.

"No, Mira! No, no, no! You can't tell anyone!"

"Tell anyone what?" a man's voice asked behind Levy and she turned around.

"Hi, Laxus," Mira said with another bright smile. "When did you get back in town?"

"Yesterday. So, what do guy have to do to get a drink around here?"

Mira smiled and motioned him to follow her. That was Levy's excuse to leave. Why did she say that? She knew the way Mira's mind worked. She could only hope that Mira wouldn`t tell anyone. She turned around and saw Mira wink at her while pouring a drink for Laxus and she breathed out. It seemed like her secret was safe for now.

Another secret was finally about to be revealed.

"Can I please tell them now, Lucy?" Natsu pleaded when everyone was sitting at the table. "Please?"

Lucy pretended to think about it. The she nodded and smiled.

"Yes, you can."

"Alright! Everybody listen up! I got an announcement to make!"

Natsu got up so fast his chair fell to the floor, but he didn't notice.

"We're pregnant! Lucy's having a baby! My baby!"

At least he's not standing on the table and yelling so the whole bar can hear him, Lucy thought and blushed.

"Congratulations!"

Everyone was happy for them and they all wanted to give them a hug. It was pretty busy around the table for a moment before everyone calmed down again. Gajeel watched Levy thoughtfully and wondered when and how she would tell them about her pregnancy. Was he ready for that?

Levy had a feeling what he was thinking. She gave him a soft smile and leaned against him. She wasn't ready to tell them yet. Besides, this was Natsu's and Lucy's moment and she didn't want to take that away from them.